Thoughts on Carter
by Ceu Praca
Summary: Rated for the topic. A short series of oneshots on what other people thought of Jocelyn Carter. Cycles through the points of view of Samantha Shaw, Lionel Fusco, Harold Finch, Carl Elias, and John Reese. I guess you could call this my tribute to one of the best crime fighters in NYC. Carter, I'll miss you.
1. Samantha Shaw

**A/N:** Let's just say that I am furious that Joss Carter died, and I actually cried when it happened. I don't usually cry over fictional characters dying, but that was...brutal. This is a series of oneshots from various points of view on Carter. I'm not writing the point of view of Taylor Carter or her ex-husband, Paul Carter, because I know I'll start sobbing over the keyboard and the result will be a jumbled mess. It took all of my strength just to write from _Reese's_ POV. Anyway...here it is. I'm not really sure _why_ I wrote a oneshot in here from Carl Elias' POV, but there is. I don't own _Person of Interest_ or any of its characters, etc.

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**Samantha Shaw**

To Shaw, Carter was just…solid. A good detective, someone that could be trusted with dangerous information. Shaw didn't trust many people, but Carter somehow managed to get her name on that short list. Didn't know why, really; Samantha had never had a fondness for police. Even when working for the government, she'd looked down on cops as just the pawns in a bigger game.

Still, Carter was just…different. Not just a mindless dip obeying orders, she was sharp and quick. And, geez, she could handle guns better than Reese ever could. When Shaw had seen that footage of the lady single-handedly assaulting the truck, she'd felt an emotion that she'd never felt before. She'd felt a kinship.

Another girl who liked guns, another woman who could hold her own. There weren't many ladies like that, sadly. While most women were too concerned with finding their next date or getting a pretty dress, Carter was on the streets obliterating the Russian mob. Dang, you had to be impressed by a person like that.

Like Shad had said: solid. She normally saw all of the flaws in a person before she realized their talent, if they had any, but when Shaw had first met Carter, the first thing she'd noticed was the lady's dedication. The second thing she'd noticed was how Carter never just obeyed Reese immediately like Fusco did.

No, Carter always asked him 'why.' _Why_ did he want her to do that, _why_ did he want to keep information from her. Maybe that's why Shaw had agreed to steal John's guns for her; payback for all the times Reese had bossed them around, expecting them to just bow their heads and obey without question like HR's lackeys did.

Yeah, Shaw had to admit, she didn't like many people, but she had liked that one detective, the girl who had perfect aim. And even though she didn't feel sadness like most people would have, she knew one thing for sure: she would definitely miss Jocelyn Carter.


	2. Lionel Fusco

**Lionel Fusco**

When Fusco had gotten the call about what had happened to Carter, he'd frozen. The first thought that ran through his head was: _How did that even happen?_ Then it hit him like a sucker punch. Taylor. Carter's son. His mom was _gone_.

Lionel had always felt a connection with Carter; they were both trying to raise a son in a messed-up world. At least he knew that his ex would take care of Lee in case anything ever happened to him. What would happen to Taylor? Lionel didn't know. He knew that the kid's dad was out there somewhere, but if the guy hadn't even been around when his boy was growing up, what kind of father would he make.

It was in that instant that he decided that he'd try to take care of Taylor if he could. Maybe the kid could become friends with Lee. All Lionel knew was that he'd lost a partner, and that partner had left behind a kid that was bound to be angry and scared right now.

Heck, why did it have to happen? Why didn't Reese and the Invisible Man stop it in time? They _always_ stopped murders from happening; why couldn't they stop this one? What was it about Carter that kept those two from knowing about it ahead of time like they always did? Ah, Carter. No one should have to die in the streets like that. No one.

It wasn't often that Lionel cried. He could only remember a few times, and all of them were times that had to do with Lee. The day his son had been born, and…the moment where he'd thought his son was dead. Shaw's voice on the other side, telling him that Lee was okay, was the sweetest thing he had ever heard. And now Carter. She was gone. He'd never see her again, never go on another case with her, never see that smile or hear that familiar chuckle.

No, it wasn't often that he cried. But now, with the lights turned off so that he couldn't be seen, alone in his room so that Lee couldn't hear him, Lionel wept.


	3. Harold Finch

**Harold Finch**

He saw Mr. Reese and Detective Carter on the other side of the street. He'd never seen Reese smile like that before. Although he wouldn't dare say it where John could hear him, Finch knew full well that there was something between those two that was far more than friendship. He saw them on the other side of the street.

When he heard the phone ring, his blood ran cold. _No!_ How could this happen, how could the Machine do this? _Not now, not when everything has just turned out right!_ He heard the shots, saw Simmons fall. Saw all three of them fall. The phone kept ringing, that infernal noise that warned of impending death.

"You were too late," he'd whispered to the Machine. "Why didn't you warn us in time?" Only silence answered his question.

He didn't know what to do, so he just stood there, watching as Reese held her close to him, crying, showing more emotion than Finch had ever seen from the former agent. Most of the time, Harold never really showed much of what was going on inside his head. Fear was probably the only emotion he was good at. Paranoia.

Still, when he saw Carter die, it was a shock to his system. He couldn't even cry, couldn't even feel sorrow. He was too stunned to do anything. The Machine hadn't stopped it. Why hadn't it stopped it? He knew why. Simmons was unpredictable. He had been gunning for Reese, and Carter had stepped in the way.

Finch knew that there was nothing he could do for Reese. The man had just lost a woman he loved for the second time in his life. This time, he didn't think John would recover. Carter was dead, and Harold realized that something in Reese had died with her.


	4. Carl Elias

**Carl Elias**

Wow, Jocelyn Carter was dead. Simmons got her. Elias normally didn't care who died and who didn't; they were all just pawns, and the city was his chessboard. Still, Carter was…unique. He had to admit that. Like John, she wasn't scared of him. People who were totally fearless around him were definitely rare.

John…Elias had to wonder, how was the dark vigilante dealing with losing one of his assets? Or the man named Harold. He prized information maybe even more than Elias did. Carter had been one of those people who not only gave information to the right people, but she _got_ information from whoever she wanted.

A cop with that kind of fearlessness and cunning could be dangerous. Dangerous to Elias and his operations, even. Maybe it was just good fortune that she'd died before she could cause more trouble for his organization. Still, there was a good reason why he'd ordered his men to stay out of the citywide manhunt.

Believe it or not, Elias, the most dangerous man in New York, still felt like he _owed_ Carter. He really couldn't say why. Maybe just the fact that she'd helped him out. Not that she cared about him in the least bit; after he'd taken her son that one time, he knew full well that she despised him. He didn't mind; she certainly hadn't been the only person who disliked him. She was just the only one who was so open about that dislike.

Her blunt attack of everything that she hated, her open defense of everything that she loved. With Carter, everything had been in black and white. There was no such thing as gray, not until John came along and challenged that view. And even then, she saw him first as black, then as white. With her, everything was clear-cut. You were either good or bad, you couldn't be both.

It was probably that characteristic that had really made her stand out. It was that bluntness that made Elias respect her. There weren't many people of her caliber out there. There weren't many people that Elias could honestly say that he _respected_ either. That was, indeed, what made Carter so unique. She got even the most powerful men in the city to respect her.


	5. John Reese

**John Reese**

He screamed. It ripped from his throat before he could stop himself, punching the walls of his loft, emptying his gun closet and throwing the weapons across the room. _Why?_ It had been so long since John had opened up to someone, so long since he had dared to love another, and now, just as he had finally let her know that he loved her, Simmons had come. _Why?_

She had died in his arms, her gasping voice haunted him, he never slept until he collapsed involuntarily. He never ate until Shaw came and forced him to. Both her and Finch had completely given up on trying to get him to change his clothes or take a shower. He couldn't think clearly, all he knew was that she was _gone_. How had it happened? How could he have not seen Simmons before the shots were fired?

Reese hated himself for her death, he replayed the events of that night over and over again until he was convinced that it was his fault that she had died. If only he had seen Simmons coming, if only he had blocked the bullets with his own body, if only…if only…

He collapsed to his knees, sobbing, unable to stand any more. Carter was dead, and John had died with her.


End file.
